Microsoft Fabric Blog presents a detailed guide on connecting Fabric workspaces to Azure DevOps using service principals, covering authentication methods, integration workflow, and practical steps for setting up automated CI/CD pipelines.

How to Connect Microsoft Fabric to Azure DevOps Using Service Principal

This blog post offers a comprehensive walkthrough for connecting Microsoft Fabric workspaces with Azure DevOps repositories using the newly released service principal and cross-tenant authentication capabilities.

Overview

With the recent general availability of service principal and cross-tenant support in Azure DevOps, organizations can now automate and manage CI/CD for Microsoft Fabric assets more securely and flexibly. This foundational integration supports asset movement across Development, Test, and Production environments.

Supported Git Providers

  • Azure DevOps (ADO)
  • GitHub

While both providers are supported, this guide focuses on leveraging Azure DevOps with enhanced authentication options.

Previous Integration (before service principal)

  • Admin users would connect Fabric workspaces to ADO repositories using their user credentials.
  • Authentication relied on “Automatic Git Credential”, requiring each admin to configure access manually, either via workspace settings or programmatically via the Fabric Git Connect API.
  • Only contributor-level users in the same workspace benefited from the established connection.

Service Principal and Configured Credential (new capability)

  • Organizations can now create a new Azure DevOps cloud connection and utilize service principal identity for workspace authentication.
  • Authentication methods supported:
    • OAuth 2.0
    • Service principal
  • Cross-tenant (multi-tenant) scenarios are fully supported, facilitating collaboration and automation across environments.
  • When connecting a workspace, the credential can be configured once and reused by other contributor-level users, reducing setup repetition.
  • The Fabric Git Integration pane now automatically attempts “Automatic” authentication first; if it fails, a configured credential (such as the service principal) is used.

Benefits

  • Seamless Automation: Fully supports automated asset movement and CI/CD pipeline implementation.
  • Improved Security: Uses service principal authentication for better control and compliance.
  • Reduced Manual Steps: Secondary users do not need to repeat configuration.
  • Flexibility: Choose between OAuth 2.0 and service principal methods to match your organization’s requirements.

Resources & Documentation

This guide is essential reading for DevOps engineers and administrators looking to implement robust CI/CD practices for Microsoft Fabric solutions by utilizing Azure DevOps service principal support.

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